Cooksey v. Landry, 761 S.E.2d 61

Christopher Landry died by suicide in 2012 after treatment by psychiatrist Crit Cooksey who prescribed Seroquel and Cymbalta with FDA black box warnings.
Landry family sought Christopher’s psychiatric records for medical malpractice/ wrongful death and survival claims; Cooksey refused citing psychiatrist-patient privilege under OCGA § 24-5-501 (a).
Plaintiffs obtained a trial-court equitable injunction demanding production of all records; appellate stay was granted pending review.
Georgia law provides a nearly absolute psychiatrist-patient privilege, which survives the patient’s death and generally requires waiver by the patient, not by his estate.
The trial court’s injunction included privileged communications; the court remanded to distinguish non-privileged records and to assess possible waiver.
The Supreme Court held the trial court erred in ordering disclosure of privileged material but affirmed as to non-privileged records; case remanded for further protection-compliant review.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether psychiatric records are privileged under OCGA § 24-5-501 (a).	Landrys seek records via equity to investigate claims.	Cooksey argues records are privileged and protected from disclosure.	Privileged; cannot be disclosed absent patient waiver.
Whether equity can compel production despite the psychiatrist-patient privilege.	Equity should allow discovery to pursue legitimate claims.	Equity cannot override statutory privilege.	Equity cannot override the statute; trial court erred.
Whether the psychiatrist-patient privilege survives the patient’s death and can be waived by a deceased patient’s estate representative.	Estate representative should be able to waive to pursue claims.	Privilege survives death and waiver lies with patient only.	Privilege survives death; waiver by estate representative not authorized.
What is the scope of non-privileged vs privileged records and waivable information on remand.	All relevant non-privileged information should be disclosed.	Only non-privileged records may be disclosed; privilege persists for protected materials.	Remand to determine non-privileged records and any waivers; disclose non-privileged material.

Brown v. Liberty Oil & Refining Corp., 261 Ga. 214 (1991) (equity cannot override statutory rights; as a matter of public policy, statutory rights trump equity)
Kennestone Hosp., Inc. v. Hopson, 273 Ga. 145 (2000) (confidential psychiatrist-patient communications privilege to encourage treatment)
Herendeen v. State, 279 Ga. 323 (2005) (psychiatrist-patient privilege survives death; communications protected)
Sims v. State, 251 Ga. 877 (1984) (psychiatrist-patient communications privilege; limits and scope clarified)
Jaffee v. Redmond, 518 U.S. 1 (1996) (federal psychotherapist-patient privilege; certainty in protection essential)